Social media websites are awash with pictures of flooded underpasses and traffic snarls caused by exceptionally heavy rainfall in West Amman, Jordan. The skies ripped open late yesterday morning, quickly dropping several inches of rain across the capital city, overwhelming storm sewers and turning roads into raging rivers. I was there – it was a […]
There are calls for Halloween to be banned in the Middle East and other parts of the Muslim and Christian world where this ancient solstice tradition is misunderstood. Halloween of today is a mutt of a holiday. It combines ingredients from stone-age Celts Irish and Scottish Catholics, native American harvest festivals and marketing from candy and […]
Halloween landed on a Friday this year, meaning your “I have to work tomorrow” excuse for not dressing up becomes as flimsy as a ghost. So, with a few hours to prep before tonight’s parties begin, how do you devise a spooktacular costume without buying more polyester (most likely shipped over from China) to crap […]
Nanoflowcell technology’s Quant e-Sportlimousine is fast. Its 920 horsepower engine can accelerate this sleekly luxurious car from 0 to 100mph in 2.8 seconds. Its maximum speed is 217.5 mph. Nanoflowcell, maker of a new kind of battery, claims this electric car has a range of 373 miles with a full tank. And when it does […]
A fascinating report published by Mumbai-based think tank Strategic Foresight Group (SFG), asserts that trans-boundary water cooperation directly correlates with regional stability and peace. The inverse also holds true: failure to collaborate when managing shared water resources raises the risk of war.
Is it better to plunk dirty dinner plates into the automatic washer, or go retro and wash them by hand? The spouse thinks it wiser (and greener) to clean messes as they occur. I like how the dishwasher lets me defer. He says his way saves water. I know mine saves time. We’ve argued this for […]
My kid is hell-bent on healthy eating. No more shawarma or falafel sandwiches she says, and she’s had it with high school cafeteria hummus here in Amman, Jordan. She’s also insistent on sustainable packaging (the little green prophet didn’t fall far from the tree), so cling-film wrapped leftovers don’t make it onto her lunch menu. […]
How best to stay on track living productive, happy lives in the midst of communal fear and sadness? Tap into the healing power of nature, but make it more potent by pairing it with paint.
How do you feel about jewelry made from dead animals? I’m not talking about fetish jewelry where teeth, bones, and vertebrae turn into sinister charms, but tasteful pendants and earrings made more colorful by adding real insect wings.
The Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) announced plans to ban the use of plastic bags starting next year. The ruling also applies to plastic containers that come in direct contact with food products (think take-away and deli counter sales).
One hundred years ago on the first of September 1914, a bird named Martha died at the Cincinnati Zoo. She was the last of what had once been the most numerous bird in the world – the passenger pigeon. How did this happen? Read more as we attempt to solve this extinction mystery.
Here is a cautionary tale of two very different countries which once shared a similar water use philosophy and usage patterns. The right photo is in Jordan’s Wadi-Rum desert. The forest on the left is in Ireland.
Turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse (or silk scarves into a brilliant curtain) with upcycled materials sourced from your local souk. Make this patchwork curtain in under an hour and for about $10 – a little more work could turn it into a shower curtain or duvet cover. Get jiggy with junk! Here […]
This year’s lineup of five “supermoons” may put a sky-watcher to sleep. There were the new moons of January and February, followed by one on July 13th. So if you glimpsed one of those, did you catch another on August 10th (and the final act that happens on September 8th)? Because last night’s moon was the closest […]
Two years after passing its Renewable Energy and Efficiency Law (REEL) Jordan is moving forward with what will be the largest largest solar photovoltaic (PV) installation in the Middle East. Construction will begin on the 52.5 MW Shams Ma’an facility in early 2015 with completion in 2016. Shams is the Arabic word for “sun”.